26.04.2021

Why did God order the destruction of an entire ethnic group or city in the old testament?

Bible passages: 
1Samuel15:2, Isaiah 45:9-10, 1Chronicles 29:11-12, Genesis 6, Matthew 6.

Discussion:
The question touched on God’s sovereignty. And one need to search the scripture to tackle the question effectively. Sovereignty is defined as the supreme power or authority.

The Ten Commandments: set out the fundamental principles of how we are to treat God and how we are to treat our fellow human beings Exodus 20. And if the law is not obeyed; there will be consequence. Romans 4:15 …
because the law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.

Sovereignty of God:
Isaiah 45:7-9 verse 7: I form the light and create darkness, I bring prosperity and create disaster; I, the Lord, do all these things….
Isaiah 46:9-10 verse 9: Remember the former things, those of long ago;
    I am God, and there is no other;
    I am God, and there is none like me.
Verse 10: I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. I say, ‘My purpose will stand, and I will do all that I please.’

The passages tells us that God has the right and authority to do what He wishes. The Lord does not seek to destroy but He gives free-will and choice. He also has set of rules because he has the ruling power - sovereignty. If a person, group, race or ethnic go against the commandments of God; there will be consequence for such an action.

Examples in the Scripture:
1. Sins in Sodom and Gomorrah Genesis 19. Genesis 18 verse 20 Then the Lord said, “The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin so grievous…
2. Sins of the Amalekites 1 Samuel 15:1-35. 1Samuel 15:2-3
This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘I will punish the Amalekites for what they did to Israel when they waylaid them as they came up from Egypt. Verse 3 Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy all that belongs to them. Do not spare them; put to death men and women, children and infants, cattle and sheep, camels and donkeys.’”

Other examples:
Story of the Red Sea Exodus 14: 19-31
Story of David and Goliath 1Samuel 17; and many more.
In a nutshell, the intention of God is not to kill but He could bring judgement on sinners to eradicate. God has the power to pass judgment - power of sovereignty.

Key point:
For God to pass a judgment; there is always a reason.

Discussion:
A real life story on Facebook was used in our discussion. We analysed some of the factors that reveals a fake Pastor.

Brief background: 
The Church of a named Pastor started filming; when someone came to him to ask for forgiveness.  Then, he cursed the person who came to him on a sick bed.

Lesson:
- All power belongs to God 1Peter 5:11-13; Psalm 62:11.
What does the Pastor want to achieve by filming an incident - when someone was asking for forgiveness?
When a Pastor starts to boast of power; don’t fall into the trap - be aware that no one has power unless God permit it.

- Pastor that calls for the attention of camera when he wants to perform a miracle, or curse someone shows that he/ she has some planned agenda which might be unknown to the congregation.

- Mark 16:15-17 miracle will follow those that believe ….
He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.” Mark 16:15-17 Miracle should follow those that believe and are save. Christians should not be running after miracle but miracle should accompany them.

Lesson:
- People tend to look for a quick solution to their problem.

- People are lazy - they don’t want to work on their faith or themselves but they look for miracle.

- God is the creator of all things; but some people uses the creation of God for evil. Nehemiah 9:6, Colossians 1:16 God only perform miracle when it is absolutely necessary. The Isrealites continued to eat manna until they reach Canaan.

Exodus 16: 34 - 35 As the Lord commanded Moses, Aaron put the manna with the tablets of the covenant law, so that it might be preserved. The Israelites ate manna forty years, until they came to a land that was settled; they ate manna until they reached the border of Canaan.

Praise God